JPH0580679B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a player piano equipped with an action mechanism that strikes a string using a hammer that interlocks with a key.

[Conventional technology]

In general, a player piano includes a recording section that records performance information, a recording section that plays back this recorded performance information,
It consists of a playback section that automatically plays the piano. In this case, the recording section stores, as performance information during piano performance, keystroke information such as note name and stop timing associated with keypress operations on the keyboard, and string striking information such as volume and string strike timing associated with key depression intensity. detects and
This information is digitized and recorded on a data recorder or the like. The reproducing section reproduces the recorded performance information and drives a solenoid provided for each key based on this performance information, thereby automatically playing the piano.

By the way, in order to detect performance information in such a player piano, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 7, a key sensor 1 consisting of two switches arranged at different levels under the keyboard board is provided, Performance information is detected by inputting signals S ₁ and S ₂ associated with on and off obtained from each switch to a counter 2 and a key assigner 3. At this time, one signal S ₁ of the key sensor 1 is inputted as a count start signal of the counter ₂ , and the other signal S ₂ is inputted as _a count stop signal. It will look like the figure.

In FIG. 8, when the keyboard is pressed, the signal from the key sensor 1 is generated based on this key pressing operation.
S ₁ occurs at time t ₁ , and this signal causes counter 2 to
counting starts. and signal S ₂ of key sensor 1
occurs at time _t2 , this signal causes the counter 2 to stop counting. Therefore, this time t ₁
Since the time interval ~ _t2 corresponds to the keyboard speed due to key press operation between the two points of each switch, the key press strength (sound strength) is calculated based on the count value of counter 2 obtained during this period. It can be detected as and,
The signal _S1 from the key switch 1 is also input to the key assigner 3, where it is also detected which key has been pressed (note name determined). In addition, in Figure 8, T
indicates the counting period of the counter 2, the signal _S1 of the key sensor 1 corresponds to the on/off time (key on) of the switch associated with the key press operation, and the time _t3 at the off time corresponds to the sound stop timing. . Also, this signal
_S1 is sent as a reset signal to reset the counter 2 through the inverter 4 (see FIG. 7). Furthermore, the signal _S2 corresponds to the string striking timing.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, the signal obtained based on the configuration of the key sensor 1 as described above always reaches S ₂ within the signal generation period of S ₁ as shown in FIG. 8, regardless of the playing style of the keyboard instrument, so-called legato or staccato.
signals will be included. This does not cause a problem with electronic musical instruments that do not have an action mechanism, but
This causes inconvenience in a player piano having an action mechanism.

In other words, for example, if a rapid and weak key press is performed, the string can be struck without the key moving the full stroke (10.2 mm), so there is a possibility that the S ₂ signal will not be generated after the S ₁ signal is generated. There is. In this case, as shown in Fig. 9, the key-off signal of S ₁ becomes S ₂
The signal (count stop) is input to the key assigner 3 without being generated, and as a result, the recognition of the keyboard is canceled due to the circuit configuration, and even though the strings are actually being struck, this string hitting information is not recorded. .

Furthermore, although the action mechanism operates in conjunction with the keyboard, strictly speaking, the speed of the hammer and the speed of the keyboard do not match, so even if the speed of the keyboard is detected between those two points, the strength with which the keys are pressed and the volume will vary. This did not result in accurate response, and as a result, there were inconveniences such as the inability to perform accurate volume detection. Furthermore, since the signal S ₂ is generated before the actual string striking (sounding) (in a shallow staccato, the opposite occurs), accurate string striking timing cannot be obtained.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and detects the strength of string striking at two points related to the string-striking action of the hammer, and detects the note name at one point on the keyboard or wippen. By doing so, it is possible to eliminate recording errors of key presses and to perform performance information detection for a player piano, which can record more faithfully.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve such an object, a player piano according to the present invention is a player piano having a key sensor 12, a hammer sensor 13, and a recording control circuit 14, and the key sensor 12 has a key sensor 12 that is connected to a key 23 at a predetermined depth. The hammer sensor 13 detects that the key has been pressed more deeply than the key press and outputs a keystroke signal K. The recording control circuit 14 includes a key assigner _14a and a counter _14b . The counter 14b outputs the pitch name information of the key 23 when K is input.
The counting is started by the second hammer detection signal _M1 , and the counting is stopped by the second hammer detection signal _M2 ,
The counted value is output as volume information.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall block diagram showing an outline of a player piano according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the main parts of the present invention. Here, the automatic performance piano is provided with a sensor 11 for recording performance information of the main body of the piano 10, and the above-mentioned performance information accompanying the player's performance is digitized in the recording control circuit 14, and the digital signal is converted into a digital signal. The data are sequentially recorded on the data recorder 15. During playback, the performance information recorded in the data recorder 15 is sequentially read out by the playback logic circuit 16 and transferred to the solenoid drive circuit 17.
8 is driven according to the contents read from the data recorder 15 to mechanically move each key, thereby automatically playing the piano 10, which is similar to the conventionally known one. The details are omitted.

The present invention uses a non-contact type key sensor 12 that detects a key press operation at a wippen section of an action mechanism or at one point on a keyboard as a sensor 11 for recording performance information of a piano 10, and a non-contact type key sensor 12 that detects a key press operation at a wippen section of an action mechanism or at one point on a keyboard. A non-contact type hammer sensor 13 is provided to detect the string-strike strength of the hammer at two points related to the string-striking operation, and the key press operation signal, that is, the key press signal K obtained from the key sensor 12 is detected as shown in FIG. The recording control circuit 14 as shown in FIG.
input to the key assigner 14a. Then, the signals M ₁ and M ₂ associated with the hammer string striking strength obtained from the hammer sensor 13 are respectively input to the counter 14b, and after the key hitting note name is detected, the hammer string striking strength is calculated based on these signals M ₁ and M ₂ . It is characterized by detection.

3 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the action mechanism of a player piano equipped with the aforementioned key sensor 12 and hammer sensor 13, FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the key sensor 12, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the hammer sensor 1.
3 is a sectional view of FIG. In FIG. 3, a keyboard reed 22 is placed on a shelf board 21 of a self-playing piano, and on top of the keyboard reed 22 are a corresponding number of strings 25 of each pitch (for example, 88 pieces)
The keys 23 are arranged in parallel so as to be swingable in the vertical direction, with the intermediate portions of the keys being supported. The key 23 is normally pressed by hand, and during automatic performance, it is pressed as if by hand by an actuator 26 of an electromagnetic solenoid disposed between the shelf board 21 and the rear end 23a of the key 23. It operates as if a key had been operated.

A well-known action mechanism 27 is disposed above the rear end portion 23a of the key 23. This action mechanism 27 includes a wippen 30 whose one end is pivotally supported by a center rail 28 and which is pushed up and rotated by a capstan 29 when the key 23 is operated.
a jack 31 rotatably mounted on the shaft 2, and a butt 3 rotatably supported on the center rail 28 and pushed up and rotated by the jack 31.
2. A catcher 34 is attached to the butt 32 via a catcher shank 33, and rotating parts such as a hammer 35 are also attached to the butt 32, and the wippen 30 rotates upward in conjunction with the key press operation. However, when the jack 31 pushes up the butt 32, the hammer 35 rotates together with this and strikes the string 25.

The center rail 28 is further provided with a well-known damper mechanism 40. This damper mechanism 40 is a damper lever 41 whose intermediate portion is rotatably supported by the center rail 28 via a damper wire 42, and which normally presses the strings 25 to prevent their vibrations. 43, consists of a damper spoon 44 etc. installed on the rotation fulcrum side of the wippen 30, and as the wippen 30 rotates upward, the damper spoon 44 presses the lower end of the damper lever 41 and rotates it. By doing so, the damper 43 is separated from the string 25. The center rail 28 to which the action mechanism 27 and the damper 40 are attached is made up of two or three brackets that are erected on the shelf board 21 and whose upper ends are connected and fixed to the frame 24 by action bolts 45. 46. Also, 47 is a hammer rail, 48 is a leg reching button, 49
is a back check, and 50, 51, and 52 are springs, respectively.

In front of the action mechanism 27, a sensor bracket 55 whose upper end is fixed to the bracket 46 is arranged substantially vertically.
Wipen 30 and Catcher Yank 33
A large number of key sensors 12 and hammer sensors 13 respectively corresponding to the above are arranged via a common printed circuit board 80.

As shown in FIG. 4, the key sensor 12 includes a sensor mounting member 61 having a notch groove 62 in the vertical direction on its distal end surface, and a pair of left and right vertical notches 62 forming the notch groove 62 of the sensor mounting member 61. wall 63
A light emitting element 64 and a light receiving element 65, such as a light emitting diode and a phototransistor, which are respectively embedded in the holes 63a and 63b and facing each other, are raised together with the wippen 30 when it is rotated upward, and the sensor mounting member 61 is cut off. The shutter 67 is inserted into the cutout groove 62 to block the light from the light emitting element 64 received by the light receiving element 65. The shutter 67 is a light emitting element 64
When the light is blocked, the voltage of the light-receiving element 65 rises to a high level and becomes a switch-on state, and the signal at this time is input to the key assigner 14a and detected as note name information. Also, the string-striking operation by the hammer 35 is completed, and the shutter 67 is activated by the wippen 3.
0 and exits from the notch groove 62, the light from the light emitting element 64 is received by the light receiving element 65, returning to the switch-off state, and the signal at this time is detected as sound stop information. Ru. Although this sound stop information is obtained by the return of the action mechanism 27, the action mechanism 27 and the damper mechanism 4
0 means that compared to the interlocking relationship between the key 23 and the damper mechanism 40, the catcher 34 and the wippen 30 are connected by the bridle tape 36, which maintains a more accurate interlocking relationship, so it is not possible to use the sound stop information provided by the conventional key. detected with higher fidelity compared to

The hammer sensor 13 has a distal end extending above the catch shank 33, and a pair of left and right sensor mounting portions 7 on the distal end surface as shown in FIG.
Sensor mounting member 71 consisting of 1A and 71B arranged oppositely
A pair of upper and lower light emitting elements 72A, 72B and a pair of light receiving elements 73A, 73B are arranged on each sensor mounting part 71A, 71B so as to face each other.
When the action mechanism 27 is actuated, the catcher shank 33 and the catcher 34 rise to the pair of sensor mounting portions 71A, 7.
It is configured to sequentially block light from light emitting elements 72B and 72A inserted between light receiving elements 73B and 73A. Here, the light from the light emitting elements 72B and 72A is sequentially blocked,
When the voltages of the light receiving elements 73B and 73A rise to a high level and are sequentially switched on, each signal at this time is input to the counter 14b. Then, from the time when the light receiving element 73B is turned on, the light receiving element 73
The time until A is turned on is shorter when the string striking speed of the hammer 35 is faster, and longer when it is slower.
By measuring this with the counter 14b, the string-striking speed, that is, the string-striking intensity (volume) can be directly detected.

FIG. 6 shows a time chart of the signals K, M ₁ and M ₂ obtained based on the configuration of the key sensor 12 and hammer sensor 13 as described above. Therefore, the operation of the configuration shown in FIG.
This will be explained with reference to the time chart shown in the figure. In Fig. 2, when the keyboard is pressed, first the key sensor 1
2, a signal K is generated at time t ₁ , and this signal K
is input to the key assigner 14a, and the note name is detected. Then, the signal _M1 is generated from the hammer sensor 13 (light receiving element 73B) at time _t2 by the action mechanism 27 driven based on the key press, and this signal _M1 is inputted to the counter 14b as a count start signal, and the counter 14b is inputted as a count start signal. 14b starts counting. Next, the hammer sensor 13 (light receiving element 7
3A), a signal M ₂ is generated at time t ₃ , that is, at the instant of string striking, and this signal M ₂ serves as a count stop signal to stop counting by the counter 14b. Thereby, the string striking strength is detected as volume information based on the count value of the counter 14b during this time. Therefore, since the action of the hammer 35 of the action mechanism 27 is performed during the key press period, the signal M ₁ of the hammer sensor 13 is turned off at time t ₄ before the signal K of the key sensor 12 is turned off at time t ₅ . will be turned off. Note that the signal K from the key sensor 12 is sent to the counter 14b through the inverter 14c.
This counter 1 is sent as a reset signal to
4b and the key assigner 14a are the same as the conventional ones.

As described above, in the present invention, the non-contact type key sensor 12 that detects the key press operation and the non-contact type hammer sensor 13 that detects the string striking strength of the hammer are provided, and the signal K of this key sensor 12 is sent to the key assigner 14a. After inputting the key and detecting the keystroke name, the passing time between two points in the rotation range of the catch shaft 33, which rotates when the hammer 35 performs string-striking operation, is determined based on the signals M ₁ and M ₂ from the hammer sensor 13. Since the string hitting strength is detected by counting, the key name and key hitting strength can be detected without contact, and mistakes in recording key presses can be eliminated. Furthermore, by directly detecting the strength of the string striking with the hammer, it is also possible to more accurately detect information on the volume and string striking (sounding) timing, compared to detection using only a conventional key sensor.

In the above embodiment, the key sensor 12 is arranged corresponding to the wippen 30, but the key sensor 12 is not limited to this, and it is not limited to the part directly connected to the wippen 30 or each key 23 of the keyboard.
It may be arranged separately.

Furthermore, although the hammer sensor 13 is disposed at two points related to the string-striking motion of the hammer 35, corresponding to the upper position of the catcher shaft 33, the hammer sensor 13 is not limited to this. 2
It may also be configured to detect the string striking strength of the hammer at a certain point. According to this configuration, since the volume is directly detected as the hammer speed, the volume can be detected very accurately, and the string striking timing can be set to the string striking position of the hammer 35, so the advantage is that the string striking timing is accurate. play.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the player piano according to the present invention includes the key sensor 12 and the hammer sensor 13.
and a recording control circuit 14, the key sensor 12 detects that the key 23 is pressed deeper than a predetermined depth and outputs a key press signal K, and the hammer sensor 13 outputs a key press signal K.
detects that the hammer 35 passes through the first and second passing points set in its travel stroke and outputs a first hammer detection signal _M1 and a second hammer detection signal _M2 . Yes, the recording control circuit 14 has a key assigner 14a and a counter 14b.
The key assigner 14a outputs the pitch name information of the key 23 when the keystroke signal K is input, and the counter 14b starts counting in response to the first hammer detection signal _M1 . , the counting is terminated by the second hammer detection signal _M2 , and the counted value is output as volume information, so even if the key 23 is pressed shallowly, the When strings are struck by a hammer and sound is produced, the volume information is reliably detected. That is, according to the present invention, when the pitch name information of the pressed key is detected by the key assigner 14a, the volume information corresponding to the pitch name information is always obtained. Even when a special performance is performed, the volume information can be collected without any loss, and the performance can be accurately recorded.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall block diagram showing an overview of the player piano according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the main part showing an example of the configuration of the invention, and FIG. 3 is a piano equipped with the key sensor and hammer sensor shown in FIG. 2. 4 is a sectional view of the key sensor of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the hammer sensor of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the action mechanism of a player piano. FIG. 3 is a time chart of signals obtained from each key sensor and hammer sensor, FIG. 7 is a block diagram for explaining the conventional method, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are signal time charts of the key sensor of FIG. 12...Key sensor, 13...Hammer sensor, 14a...Key assigner, 14b...Counter, 23...Key, 27...Action mechanism, 30
...Whipen, 33...Catch Yank,
34...catcher, 35...hammer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A key sensor 12, a hammer sensor 13,
A player piano having a recording control circuit 14, the key sensor 12 detects that the key 23 is pressed down deeper than a predetermined depth and outputs a key press signal K, and the hammer sensor 13 is configured to: The first hammer detection signal _M1 is generated by detecting that the hammer 35 passes through the first and second passing points set in its travel stroke.
and a second hammer detection signal _M2 , and the recording control circuit 14 includes a key assigner 14a,
The key assigner 14a outputs the pitch name information of the key 23 when the keystroke signal K is input, and the counter 14b has a first hammer detection signal _M1.
Counting is started by the second hammer detection signal.
A player piano that finishes counting with M ₂ and outputs the counted value as volume information.